Sustainable Energy and Economy Network

Janet Redman, of the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, said: “What some see as inaction is in fact a demonstration of the palpable failure of our current economic system to address economic, social or environmental crises.

“Banks that caused the financial crisis are now making bonanza profits speculating on our planet’s future. The financial sector, driven into a corner, is seeking a way out by developing ever newer commodities to prop up a failing system.”

A Democracy for America panel discussion of the Institute for Policy Studies report "America is Not Broke -- How to Pay for the Crisis While Making the Country More Equitable, Green, and Secure" (www.ips-dc.org) detailing 24 policy suggestions to secure $824 billion of deficit reduction every year.

This week climate negotiators have so far been unable to resolve the same thorny issues that previous talks have been plagued by. A major point of contention is how to fund an independent fund of money designated to combat global warming.

Sarah Anderson, global economy project director with the Institute, contributed to the report.

"We identified a number of fiscal reforms that could raise as much as $824 billion a year and do it in ways that could make our country stronger, as well as putting people back to work."

The progressive think tank based in Washington, D.C., contends that the country’s financial resources have been misdirected, and it identified several reforms to make the United States “more equitable, green and secure.”